Strawberry In Disguise
by roundround
Summary: Bumping into a strange Japanese guy and encountering a series of strange events, Harry Potter was obliged to help him in any way, even it meant sneaking the guy into Hogwarts in his invisiblity cloak.
1. Meeting Strawberry

**Strawberry In Disguise**

**Chapter One**

When Harry Potter slammed into certain tall, muscled guy in Diagon Alley, he thought the guy looked haughty. An everpresent scowl, the furrowed eyebrows, and an unpleasantly irritated look in his eyes. Oh yeah, and the bleached hair.

So the guy's concern for him took him by surprise.

"Are you okay?" the guy said gruffly. Harry noticed how his muscles flexed in a powerful, predator-like way and noted he must be a good fighter.

"I am okay. Thanks."

As Harry turned to walk away, he found himself being pulled by arm and looked into a pair of brown eyes.

"Wait. Tell me where this place is."

Harry stood rooted to the place for a moment, his brain processing the request, and finally he took in the guy's attire. No cloak. Jeans. Shirt. And somehow a clueless look on his face as those brown eyes glanced at his cloak and the passerby's in a confused way.

"You're a muggle?"

Kurosaki Ichigo frowned and shrugged, "I am not sure what that means."

"You're a muggle." Harry repeated, now more sure, "But how on earth a muggle can enter Diagon Alley?" Well, he wasn't particularly sure about the rules. Maybe he should ask Hermione. But still muggles should not be exposed to Wizarding World. What can he do in this situation? Harry wondered idly.

The guy frowned and kept silent.

"Do you have any special powers?" Harry asked tentatively. Wizards showed signs of being bestowed with magical powers in a young age. Maybe this guy was a muggle-born yet a wizard. But he seemed too old to be recruited into school now. Transfer student? In muggle attire? Maybe. Harry wasn't sure what to guess anymore.

The guy seemed to stiffen at that question. In a dark and significant way, he said, "Well. I think it's a no for now."

He did not seem relieved or sad. Just a muted statement to explain his current predicament.

"Hmmm. I think you should follow me. I mean, if you are not familiar with this place, I can show you around. If you're confused, maybe you're hit by a spell or something (Harry thought of Lockhart when he said that and he winced slightly), I can ask someone to bring you to the ward."

Ichigo blinked. Stupefied.

"Huh?"

Harry smiled at his expression. The guy's features smoothened into bewilderment and somehow a tinge of childishness was brought out in his eyes. It was better than his scowling face. Maybe he had a reason to protect himself by shielding his true emotions. Or he was simply born this way.

"Well. Follow me." Hesitating for a moment, Harry extended a helpful hand, smiling, "I am Harry Potter."

Waiting. Waiting for some gasps of recognition, some stares, or something that was so frequently encountered.

And Ichigo merely squinted at the offered hand, as though deciding whether to accept the greeting, and finally grasped it.

"Kurosaki Ichigo."

Japanese. Muggle. Clueless to Harry Potter. Appearing in Diagon Alley without a slightest clue. And an interesting personality to be looked into.

Harry wasn't the biggest fan of forging friendships, but (instinct, maybe?) he was now grinning.

It would be fun, Kurosaki Ichigo.

"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki Ichigo."

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><p>Please review! Flames or critiques are appreciated. It would be more of a series of one-shots, but all chronologic. Please review. Haha.<p> 


	2. Fighting !

**Chapter Two**

"Well, the guys, erm, they came for me."

Harry felt utterly awkward to confess this, sounding quite a bit modest but given the grave situation they are in, no one could probably take it that way. Taking a short break from all the running, he puffed out the sentence while the young man beside him snorted.

"Who are they?" the young man asked gruffly, but his ears twitched.

Already well trained due to the various encounters he had previously, Harry faintly could detect the air of "something-is-gonna-happen-or-come" and the light footsteps that are caused by group of people that are around three. His chest tightened.

"They are coming, we have to run –" He looked right and left for a better escape route, but the expression of the young man intrigued him. Kurosaki Ichigo seemed to be displeased.

"I gonna propose another idea." He said, stepping in front of Harry as a sudden few cloaked man appeared in front of them, "Let's do some exercise."

"?"

For the first time, fighting looked awesome.

Harry experienced and watched fighting scene all at the same time of his life, carried out by none other by Dudley. Remembering how the fat punches landed unceremoniously all over his own body without any mercy, the brute strength and pain of the contact, he absolutely failed to relate that to the fighting scene in front of him.

It was pretty.

The steps are light and quick, as Ichigo swept in a flash towards the first, leading cloaked man. The leader hurriedly tried to raise his wand but the hands are too quick – in a moment, Ichigo snapped both of his wrist into two, and leapt to the second one, landing on his head. Without further ado, he pulled the hood down to the man's face, obscuring him of his vision, and crashed his head to the wall agilely.

"Stupefy!" The third man shouted over the heightening cries of his leader who was howling over the pain of his hands, pointing straight at Ichigo.

Harry remembered he had a wand.

Ichigo ensured he will not need to use it.

With a blink of an eye, Ichigo had rounded to the back of the third man, and attacked the back of his neck. As the hood fell backwards to reveal an arrogant face, Harry noticed his eyeballs rolled back and he plopped down without another sound. However, the leader was still wailing.

"Shut up." Ichigo said, stuffing the leader's hood into his mouth.

"Thanks." Harry said genuinely, "That's really cool."

"Why are we running again?" Ichigo sighed, walking straight out of the alley without a backward glance, as Harry followed.

"We met, walked around, they appeared, and because there is no one around, we ran." Harry supplied helpfully. They leisurely reached the part of Diagon Alley which was more crowded than the alleys just then, and Ichigo spoke.

"Well, I think I kinda figured out something."

Harry, who the whole journey busy was thinking how to inform the Weasleys about the previous incident, looked up and blinked.

"This," Ichigo raised up three wands, "Can spit fire."

And how to explain Ichigo's existence was another thing on his list.

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><p>Author's Note: Hiiii. I was on the verge of abandoning my account until I saw how many reviews I had and these motivated me. I apologize for my hiatus! Anyway, please review for this chapter too and tell me what you feel. I hope I did not disappoint you all<p> 


	3. The Confession

**Chapter Three**

Ichigo was not familiar with the usage of English, as he told Harry, which this invoked an immediate response from the wizard.

"But you speak so well to me!" Harry said.

Ichigo: "You're not speaking Japanese?"

As the passengers scurried by them with a similar harassed expression on their faces, Harry stood still along with Ichigo like unmovable statues in the tides of people. Ichigo waited for Harry's next sentence patiently, as the crowds avoided them without uttering anything. Dark skies of the Diagon Alley casted quite a shadow over Ichigo's uncompromising sculpted features, and with a leapt of heart Harry realized how eerily out of place Ichigo is with this society, with t-shirt and jeans, standing proud like an arrogant warrior.

"I think we ought to have a long discussion before we get interrupted yet again by anything else." Harry concluded, pulling him along.

The bar was quiet as it was reaching near afternoon as the guests all had their breakfast and were moodily brooding in their rooms. The atmosphere was not exactly encouraging when Harry barged in with Ichigo, going upstairs to his room and locked the door.

Harry remembered the bartender, Tom's face. He looked confused with appearance of Ichigo, while Ichigo looked confused with the bar's internal appearance. Obviously the shadiness of this place was not a familiar scene to him.

"Let me rethink everything."

"There is no need." Ichigo said quietly, "I can see it from your face. Well it is obvious I am not one of you all. I know you should be alarmed. And it doesn't explain why you are still speaking Japanese, though."

"I am speaking English – wait that's not important right now." Harry shook and tried to clear his head, but Ichigo's golden eyes were swarming all in his vision like a sight out of a fly's eyes, "I mean, first I already knew you're a muggle or you one of those who takes me normally, but how come the impact hit me so long after our meeting?" The last sentence was more directed to himself than to Ichigo, as he tuned it to a low murmur. Ichigo naturally heard it.

"Because you took me more lightly than you intend it to be at first."

That sent a tremor down his spine, as Harry glared at the bedsheets, resolutely refusing to meet Ichigo's eyes. Ichigo sighed and rubbed his own head, ruffling his orange hair messily.

"You probably think I am not something big, to be reckoned with, and you want to make friends with me, with what? Rebellious heart?" Ichigo said, "You want to make things interesting for yourself, you don't think anything could go wrong, but I am more out of hands that you expect, right? Before we're attacked, we're like young kids out for exploring, but after the attack and how I didn't work like you all did, I can see you're afraid."

Harry felt something swell up in his chest. He shifted his gaze slowly to meet Ichigo's impassive golden eyes, and the latter could see emerald eyes were set ablaze, like jade stubbornly standing in a ring of luminous fire. Ichigo was quick to react, and he jumped just in time as the bed behind him slid over with a strong force as though being pushed by ten men, landing on the mattress as the bed continued its way to hit the wall. Ichigo's body slumped over and hit the wall as the small lamps beside the beds lit with an amazing speed.

Harry's eyes were wide in shock, "I, I don't mean to do that! I am sorry."

Gruffly Ichigo dusted himself, shaking his head, "Man, awesome powers."

"It's long since these happened." Harry said, "I always thought it only happens to the Dursleys."

"You tone made it a bad thing, which it's not. Getting defensive over strangers are not quite appalling as it is."

"Dursleys, well, they're family." Harry hated to say that, but as Ichigo's eyes lighted with some wonderment, "I have to say this, Ichigo, that it doesn't seems as bad it is. I didn't treat you like some new toy or something."

"You expect yourself to be known when you first met me." Ichigo pointed out, "And the guys came for you, you must be important. Important people did that all the time. I met with plenty of important people who always did pompous thing, abiding by dignity and stuff. But that's what make them, them, you know? It's not a bad thing, it's just them; you can't blame or deny someone for being themselves. I was quite a code honour too when it comes to thing that I have to protect."

"You are the one who is making assumptions and pointing out roads for people to take, Ichigo." Harry said, "How to say this? I am not important as you think I am. I am famous because I didn't die when my parents did, it's just that a lot of things happened and someone that treated me equal without seeing me as a hero or a villain is a new breath for me." He took a deep breath as his cheeks reddened, "Kurosaki, I can't say it, but you are something special, I have this feeling that I should, I would, and I could, help you. We can help each other out."

"It's too early to say anything now." Ichigo said, his features softening for a second and hardened, "You are so innocent and gullible, you know? I could be a devil behind my mask."

"You have no mask." Harry said simply, "You see me, but I see you as well. You are innocent than I am, probably more, putting yourself under my care when you know full well about my impulsiveness at the time. I could have led you to hell. You did not question me when we got attacked. Although it looks like you follows my lead, but you are actually in step with me."

"I am always careless."

"No you're not." Harry scoffed, "You just trust me."

That sounded so good, so warm, that Ichigo felt a wave of appreciation drowsing him over. He remembered Orihime and Chad suddenly, their backs coupled with Ishida's under the basking sun, running more and more further away than him.

When he looked up, he was sitting in the classroom, and the three exited the classroom, as teacher continued to teach, the students continued to study.

There was a touch of eerie silence in the scene, as he looked down to his book, helplessly being Kurosaki Ichigo.

He was powerless with no identity, the proud man once known as Kurosaki Ichigo vanishing more as the time ticked by.

He will never see souls anymore.

He can never trust himself to protect his family from any danger, to save his friends, to serve for the soul society.

He can never be trusted to be the man he was anymore, like how the eyes and faces of his friends showed, they wanted to keep him in the safe zone, but in the same time, they distrusted him. No abilities. No strength.

He couldn't remember why he stood in the Diagon Alley. He couldn't remember what had happened after he saw their backs becoming more distant than ever. He couldn't recall what had become to him after he had lost his powers, his identity, his zanpakuto, his friends, until he was standing still in Diagon Alley, so still until someone bumped into him.

The eyes were innocent, with tinge of kindled rebellious and darkness resided in them.

A man who had found his identity, but was uncertain with it, struggling with how the society had seen him, and trying his best to grab at something that was not there.

Ichigo found him remotely similar. He decided to grab his hand of friendship.

"I might be." Ichigo said.

"We still don't quite understand each other, but we will work it out." Harry said encouragingly. It's the first time he had became such a person with a way with words, it amazed even himself.

Ichigo smiled. Someone who was willing to work it out with him, who was not pushing him away at expense of himself to share the burden, came. It was a big risk, but still, he was always a risk taker.

"Okay, it's a deal. You will help me, and I will help you in any way that I could." Ichigo answered.

"It sounds like a bargain, make it more metaphor and romanticized. We're in a relationship, you know. Commitment and stuff."

"No homos, alright?"

With that they laughed merrily.

After pushing the bed back to its original position, Harry doing work with Ichigo like a muggle should, he found a soft spot for the chore oddly as muggle housework despite he could just had moved it back with magic. Born as muggle he figured he will always cherish the muggle part of himself greatly, and the notion satisfied him in a weird way. He always will have a muggle part, Lily's blood, and he was kind of proud with it. Not with the Dursleys, but still.

"Okay we have to work things out fast." Harry said, "My friends' family, the Weasleys' they are coming back anytime. Mr. Weasley works for the minister and having a muggle here at Wizarding World's secret being exposed as expense I can't let you meet him. You have to be kept as a secret from him, or rather, everyone." Harry laughed, "They would just conclude I am insane to keep muggle with no inherent magical powers here."

"We have not tested that yet," Ichigo protested, "I might be a wizard afterall."

"So Kurosaki, why are you here?" Harry said, choosing to ignore the last sentence, giving some credits for his awesome fighting ability, "What can I help you?"

"Why are you converting from Ichigo to Kurosaki?" Ichigo frowned.

"Oh, I thought, you know, we're closer now, I can call you by name instead of family name." Harry spluttered at the question, turning red, "Why – what's wrong?"

"You're hearing English, right? Well I am hearing Japanese, and when I do, I speak in that, and while I spoke in that, I naturally placed my family name in front of my own." Ichigo said.

Harry was utterly stunned at how he had shamelessly addressed him by first name without being invited so, and could not recover from the shock for a few seconds.

Ichigo continued, "Well, I have to say I have no memories at all, it's like someone stole my memories regarding how I get here, why I get here…"

"Check your pockets? See if you have passports or something."

Ichigo was wearing t-shirt and a pair of jeans, so as he plunged his hands into his jeans pocket to look for clues, Harry looked at his collar and blinked.

"Something is written on your collar." Harry said, "In English… Urahara Kisuke?"

Upon hearing that name, Ichigo's expression changed completely. Harry witnessed the veins popped out from his neck in a furious fashion, his mouth opened and closed in quick succession, his pupils dilating and his chest heaving strongly. Next second, he looked as though he was in seizure and flipped over on his stomach, letting out a muffled, constrained groan.

Ichigo felt his head was going to explode, as his vision of Harry defreezing from his stunned state to scurry over died out into an entirety of blankness.

Urahara Kisuke.

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><p>AN: Thanks for the kind reviews, more for the motivation, please? How do you think of this chapter? Give some comments please! And about the length of it? Do review! :)


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